The time is now 10:07 am
You last visited
April 20, 2024, 10:07 am
All times shown are
Eastern Time (GMT-5:00)
May 21, 2004, 10:41 am (9 comments)
The UK Film Council is to furnish some 150 cinemas across Britain with digital projectors in an effort to increase the viewership of independent films.
The council has been awarded ¬19.25m (£13m, US$23.14m) by the countrys national lottery to install the systems, which will dramatically reduce the cost of distribution of films, according to the BBC.
Traditional film projectors require film prints, each of which cost around ¬1500 (£1000, US$1800) per reel. Independent and foreign films often cannot afford to issue the number of prints that blockbusters can, reducing their availability.
But digital projectors receive the films via satellite, eliminating the production and transportation costs of film distribution. Digital film boosters also claim that the images shown are superior to celluloid.
With the funding, the council will install 250 screens in 150 cinemas in the UK, instantly more than doubling the number of digital projectors in the world. As of last month, there were some 190 of the devices installed globally.
To receive the funding for the projectors, cinemas must leave aside a number of screenings with the projectors for independent films.
DMeurope.com
This is one the cool things about the UK Lottery: they don't "just" fund education and politically-correct programs, they do really cool stuff like this that "regular" people can benefit from.
I wish the States had set-asides for different funds that actually benefitted the people who play the lottery, instead of everything going to fund politically-correct school history books that distort and re-write history.
Definitelly impressive. I heard about these digital projectors using satellites long time ago. To be able to produce a crisp image on a theater screen, you would need a HUGE bandwidth from the satellite. I also wonder if this means an increase in movie piracy. Sure they would have some security measure prohibiting copying, but people always find a way. And with digital copies, I can only imagine very high quality bootleg copies of movies.
But I would like to go check out one of these digital projectors. Does anyone know anything about them in the US?
There are a number of them installed in certain major markets in the US. You'll probably hear a lot more about them next year when Star Wars Episode III comes out - May 19, 2005 in case you're wondering. (I'm not too much of a Star Wars geek, eh?)
but i am. thanx todd.
Hi all,
although this is one example of the UK lottery spending it's money wisely believe me it's a rare dvent. Unless of course you believe that the working classes should subsidise opera tickets for the wealthy etc etc.
J
Everyone is free to see an Opera - not just the "wealthy". In my dirt-poor days I did lots of things like seeing Operas and Symphonies, and I'd recommend them for people of all financial standings.
I am not aware of any program sponsored by the UK Lottery that earmarks funds for programs that exclusively benefit the "wealthy".
If they are doing subsidies for opera tickets you should take advantage of it.
Todd,
I agree culture should be accessible to all but unfortunately in the UK the ticket prices are inflated and most productions are in the capital. This cuts off the majority of the population that buy lottery tickets. However my main point was that the UK lottery is not known for it's intelligent spending. Past examples include paying out just £28,000 to WWII veterans' groups while paying out £500,000 to help asylum seeker rejects fight deportation. They've also shelled out for several British gangster feature films that have sunk without trace. There was also a now-defunct £11 million pop museum in Yorkshire and a visual arts centre in Cardiff which closed within a year. It was a constant barrage of criticism that forced the lottery committees to be replaced. Hopefully the new direction is a sign of things to come.
J
Oh, I see your point. Those do seem to be awful decisioins on their part. Seems like a waste of money. Kind of like when the US government wastes taxpayer money on stuff like the Elephant Dung Virgin Mary "art" exhibit in NYC. (Art is most definitely in quotes.) That kind of spending makes one sick.
Visual arts "centre"...VERY British.